


Worth Another Moment

by Goldy



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, flangst, mostly angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-22
Updated: 2014-06-22
Packaged: 2018-02-05 17:11:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1825876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goldy/pseuds/Goldy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ten and Rose get one last goodbye.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Worth Another Moment

**Title** : Worth Another Moment  
 **Pairing** : Ten/Rose, Ten II/Rose  
 **Summary** : Ten and Rose get one last goodbye.  
 **Spoilers** : Spoilers for the Christmas Specials/David Tennant's last episode.  
 **Rating** : PG  
 **Word Count** : 2,100  
 **A/N** : This is basically a shipper-induced fantasy version of how I’d like the regeneration to go. Ahem. Betaed by [](http://mrv3000.livejournal.com/profile)[**mrv3000**](http://mrv3000.livejournal.com/)! :D

_Sorry, could you tell me what year it is?_

_2005._

_That’s going to be a great one._

_Hang on, I don’t even know your name. Who are you?_

He stumbled away from the last of the festivities. Jackie trilled “for he’s a jolly good fellow” loudly behind him while Rose hissed, “Shh, _mum_.” He smiled to himself. It had been dangerous going back to see her. But worth it. Worth every moment.

He finally made it around the corner, grasping the wall with one hand. There, his legs shook before crumpling. He fell to the ground in an undignified heap with a mumbled, “Oomf.” He swallowed mouthful of snow and turned his head to the side, warm breath making a small puddle in the snow.

It wouldn’t be long now.

Someone’s shoes crunched across the snow encrusted sidewalk. He raised his head, getting an eyeful of well-polished black boots before an eerily familiar voice said, “C’mon, get up. We’ve got to get you back to the TARDIS.”

“What?” he mumbled, suddenly worried he was delirious. “Rose? What?”

She crouched down in front of him. “Not exactly your most subtle visit, yeah? I can’t believe you thought I wouldn’t figure it out.”

His heart clenched and questions like “How? When? Why?” stuck in his throat. Snow soaked through his jacket and he stiffened as a wave of pain tore through him.

She touched his shoulder and her hand warmed his skin even underneath his coat. Her tone softened. “What happened?”

“There was a battle. I was injured,” he said. “I just… I need…”

Another wave of pain hit him and he couldn’t bite down on his obvious moan of pain. Rose moved quickly. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders, cheek bent down near his. “We need to get you back on your feet and into the TARDIS,” she said. She spoke calmly. “You’ve got to regenerate. That’s all.”

“Right,” he said. “Smart plan. Brilliant—that’s…”

She threw her weight into lifting him and he focused on pushing himself to his feet—a rather remarkable feat, given the circumstances. Standing, he got his first real look at her. She was older than the Rose he’d left behind him on the Powell Estates. Her hair was shorter, her posture more confident. She gazed back at him with sharp eyes, eyes full of fondness and recognition.

His gaze drifted to her right hand and lingered on a simple, silver band circling her ring finger.

“Is that…?” he began.

“We’ve got to get to the TARDIS,” she said firmly. “How far away is it?”

“Around the corner,” he said and then added, “I’m fine, really. I’m… I don’t need…”

“Shut it,” said Rose. She moved forward and he leaned heavily on her, breath becoming shallow. Cold snow twirled down around them, coating his coat and hair even as beads of sweat collected on his neck and brow.

He shivered and Rose sent him a questioning frown. “Fever,” he explained. “My internal organs are beginning to break down.”

She nodded and continued on. He wondered if he was hallucinating—or _worse_ , he’d fallen into a post-regenerative coma and this was all a dream. But her arm across his shoulders felt solid. And she smelled like Rose—she smelled like Rose and the void and a man he’d banished to another universe.

He opened his mouth. He should tell her to go—she shouldn’t be here. Coming all this way just for him was too dangerous. But he said nothing.

Finally they reached the TARDIS. With her spare hand, Rose reached into her neckline and pulled out a TARDIS key dangling from a chain. She smiled ruefully at him and then unlocked the door before helping him inside.

The TARDIS hummed reassuringly in the back of his mind and he immediately felt better. He stopped shivering and stilled, taking a moment to catalogue his internal organs. He closed his eyes and listened to the beating of his hearts, trying to calculate how much longer it would be.

“Doctor?” Rose whispered. “Are you…?”

He grunted and then disentangled himself from her grip, shuffling over to the battered pilot’s chair. He collapsed into the seat and then rested his elbows on his knees, hanging his head.

The floor felt like it was spinning. “Soon.”

“Oh.”

He messaged his temples, willing himself to _focus_ —to just focus for a little while longer—before raising his head. Her worried eyes were fixed on his face and little bits of snow still clung to her cheeks.

He felt an intense wave of love hit him. His lips twitched into a smile and he felt some of the pain of the last few hours melt away—Rose was here. Somehow, _somehow_ that made it feel okay.

“The ring,” he said. His heart pounded so hard that he felt like it might explode. He struggled to continue. “Did he… are we…?”

“Yeah,” she said softly. “Going on six years now.”

Six years. He’d missed six years.

“It’s a lovely ring,” he managed. He bowed his head again. Only Rose Tyler could make him this happy and hurt him this much at the same time. He wondered if this was the universe’s way of showing him all the things he couldn’t have. “Rose what are you doing here?”

He heard her swallow and then her boots squeaked against the floor as she closed the distance between them. “I didn’t want you to be alone.”

“Right,” he mumbled. He felt a shooting pain in his chest. He scrubbed a hand over his face. “How long have you got?”

Her face swam into focus and he could see that her gaze was troubled. “Not long. The Doct—he said that if I stayed too long I might not…”

“Get back,” he finished heavily. He nodded to himself. “After everything, it’s not surprising that the boundaries between worlds are breaking down—creating tiny little cracks. But they won’t last long. As soon as you push through one, it will seal itself up again. Like a tiny surgical cut.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

“Rose, you’ve got to.” Without thinking, he grabbed her hand. She squeezed his fingers desperately, eyes locked on his. Her ring pressed against his middle finger. “If you get trapped here…”

“I’m not leaving until you regenerate.”

He forced a smile and tried to sound confident. “I’ve done this many, many times before. I’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, and last time you fell into a coma. That’s ‘fine,’ is it?”

His mouth dropped open soundlessly. Then something in Rose’s gaze hardened and she grabbed his tie, pulling him closer and pressing her lips against his. It took him a moment to react, and then he kissed her back, uncoordinated fumbling almost making him tumble right out of the chair.

She pulled away, but didn’t release him. He felt dizzy—like the TARDIS was hurtling through the vortex at a million miles per hour and he couldn’t find the right button on the console to steady her out again.

Rose spoke softly. “We never did quite get a proper kiss, did we?”

He touched his fingers to his lips. “Oh, I dunno. That felt like a proper kiss to me.”

She laughed softly. Then her expression turned wistful. “Doctor?”

“Hmm?”

She released a shaky breath. “It didn’t need saying.”

It was a lie—he _knew_ it was a lie—but it warmed him to hear it all the same. He gazed at her fondly before gasping in pain again. “You need to get back.”

She released him, but he surprised himself by clutching at her hand. “Wait—Rose… I reckon it does,” he said, tripping over the words. “Need saying, that is.”

She froze, fingers curling around his and holding on tightly.

_And I suppose… if it’s my last chance to say it…_

“Rose Tyler, I love you.”

He felt lighter—like he’d released a weight that had been strapped to his chest. He’d pushed those words so far down inside him that it was a relief to finally let them out into the open.

She expelled a long whoosh of air, and he could make out tear tracks on her cheeks. She released his hand and then threw her arms around him in a bone crushing hug.

He held her tightly and a familiar sensation began to burn through his insides. “Rose,” he gasped. “You’ve got to get back. Now.”

She abruptly released him and stumbled backwards, almost landing on her bum. But she hit the edge of the console and stared at him, wide-eyed. Burning fire spread through him and he glanced at his hands—they were beginning to glow yellow.

She sought out his gaze, one last desperate time. “I’ll be seeing you then, Doctor.”

Then his world exploded.

*****

Rose felt cold. She didn’t know how many more times she could handle this—watching the Doctor burn and die. She twisted her wedding ring around her finger and then reached into her pocket, grasping her Doctor-improved dimension cannon.

And then the regeneration light blinked out and it was over.

The Doctor gasped and stumbled backwards, staring at his hands like they were something foreign and alien. Then he reached up, running his hands through a thick mop of straggly brown hair before pressing the pads of his fingers to a narrow and youthful face.

Rose felt rooted to the spot. Now that he’d actually regenerated, she didn’t know what to do. _Hurry up and get back_ , said the Doctor’s voice in the head. _You can’t dally about all day, Rose. What happens if you try the dimension cannon and it doesn’t work?_

She cleared her throat. The Doctor swung his gaze over to her as if he was surprised he wasn’t alone. His eyes softened when he saw her and he dropped his arms back down to his sides.

“Hi,” he said and he had a nice voice even if it wasn’t quite what Rose was used to. His lips turned up in a smile. He looked down at himself and then gestured at her. “What d’you think?”

“Good,” said Rose quickly. “Bit younger.” He looked worried, so she hastily added, “Not in a bad way.”

He nodded absently, rubbing at his chin. Then he moved over to the console, poking idly at the nearest lever. “You should really be getting back.”

His voice was soft and she felt her heart break a little. “Are you going to be all right?”

She expected him to say “Brilliant!” or otherwise assure he was always all right, but he looked thoughtful and then said, “Should be. And I’ve got the TARDIS.”

“Right,” said Rose. She felt a burning in her eyes and began backing away.

“And thank you,” he called after her, still in that soft voice. He paused and added, “Both of you.”

“Anytime,” Rose said and pushed the TARDIS doors open.

Outside, sirens blared against the distant wailing of a party winding down. She took a breath. _Whatever happens, Rose, you can’t let Jackie or your younger self see you._ She’d laughed and knocked him in the shoulder and told him that she’d learned that lesson long ago.

He’d frowned and continued tinkering with the dimension cannon. He hadn’t been smiling much lately, not since she told him she wanted to come back. After six years of marriage, and Rose knew that a small part of him still thought she would disappear into the TARDIS and never come back.

 _Just one trip_ , she’d said with a pleading smile. _Just one trip to say goodbye._

He never could deny her anything.

She took the dimension cannon out of her pocket. She glanced one more time at the TARDIS out of the corner of her eyes and then hit the button.

A familiar _whoosh_ feeling washed over her and a split second later she was staring at a gleaming white tiled floor. She had just enough time to register that she was back in the laboratory at Torchwood before she stumbled, her ears ringing.

“Whoa there,” said a familiar voice. Someone reached out and steadied her, and then the Doctor peered at her in concern. “All right?”

Rose couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face. “I’m all right now.”

The Doctor returned her grin and then took a step back, running one hand through his hair. “And he’s…?”

 _Gone_ , she thought and didn’t say. That wasn’t quite true, was it? And the Doctor didn’t think like that—he didn’t put the same stock in a person’s look and feel like humans did.

“Fine,” she finally said, trying to sound more confident than she felt. “Regeneration seemed to go smoothly.”

The Doctor watched her closely as she spoke. He nodded to himself and then closed the distance between them, gathering her up in a tight hug. She clung to him gratefully.

“Must have been difficult seeing him again after all this time. _And_ dangerous,” he added as an after-thought—as though he hadn’t told her ten thousand times already.

“Worth it, though,” Rose said. She managed a sad smile and kissed him on the cheek. “Worth every moment.”


End file.
